About

Hippo Noto, the A5 Standard/B6 Pygmy Invasion

$55,044

pledged of $35,000 goal

778

backers

In 2017 we launched our first Kickstarter, Hippo Noto. It was our dream to develop a notebook that was "hippo sized" and could hold many memories/thoughts/ideas in one place. 500 pages of 68GSM Tomoe River Paper strong, with the help of 1401 original backers and many Late Pledges, that project came to life in a big way.

The original project as well as this one are dedicated to our son who left this world too soon. He will always be our little Hippo in the sky <3

The #hipposquad originally planned to launch the B6 Pygmy Hippo Noto first, but since the original campaign people have been asking for a full sized A5. We sent out a survey to feel out interest, and now heed the call for a dual launch! This project is our most ambitious yet, with more collaborations, multiple sizes, and added features.

Front: B6 Pygmy Hippo Noto, Back: A5 Standard Hippo Noto

The Pygmy Hippo and new A5 Standard Hippo Noto, pack all of the features loved from the original Pocket A5 Hippo Noto and also add a few new twists.

Original Features:

Back Pocket: For all your swabs, mini notebooks, stencils and more!

Elastic Closure: To keep your Hippo secure.

Two Bookmarks: Convenience in the form of ribbons.

68GSM Ivory Tomoe River Paper: All the things you love about 52GSM but with less ghosting, and a more robust feel.

Whats New:

Page Numbers!: One of the most requested features our backers from the last Kickstarter had.

Colored Dots: Each Pygmy and A5 Standard Hippo Noto have interior dot grid that match the elastic band closure of the book itself. To add a bit of pop to your writing experience.

Tons of Pages!: The Pygmy Hippo Noto boasts 400 pages, while the A5 Standard keeps the 500 page count that the original has.

Cloth Reinforced Thread Binding: The original Hippo Noto was thread bound, and this time we are making the binding even stronger by adding a piece of cloth to the profile.

Cover texture: Some of our cover options will be textured!

New cloth reinforced binding.

We are so blessed to have the talented Robert Oster do a brand new ink color exclusively for this Kickstarter. It is lovingly named Pygmy Purple.

It is a berry magenta that has excellent shading and sheen, especially on the 68GSM Tomoe River Paper of Hippo Noto.

Up close and personal with Robert Oster Pygmy Purple

Lets Talk Specs!

A5 Standard Hippo Noto:

Measures 148 x 210 mm

68GSM Ivory Tomoe River Paper (the TR paper tone closest to white and the most popular option from our last campaign)

This Kickstarter will start off with two colors, one in A5 Standard and one in Pygmy B6. We will add more colors as stretch goals, some of which the backers will choose! We wanted to make this Kickstarter more interactive, as we had such a great response letting the backers choose the stretch goal color for the last campaign.

A5 Standard: So Black. This Hippo will feature a black cover, grey interior end pages, grey interior dot grid printing/page numbers, black bookmarks, and black elastic band closure. The Hippo Noto logo on the front will feature a dark grey foil, in contrast to the traditional silver we use on all our other models.

B6 Pygmy: Purple. Hippos are purple after all! This Hippo Noto will feature a royal purple cover with purple interior end pages, two purple bookmarks (light and dark), fanciful purple interior printing dot grid/page numbers, and a light purple elastic band closure.

Purple B6 Pygmy Hippo Noto Prototype

Interior dot grid that matches the elastic bands! ***In the So Black Hippo Noto, the dots will be a grey as to not be tooo distracting.

The Paper

At the core of Hippo Noto is the paper that we use, 68GSM Tomoe River Paper. This paper is optimal for fountain pens and amazing at bringing out the magic in ink that might otherwise be flat. This special paper is imported from Japan. Here are some examples of shading and sheen on 68GSM Hippo Noto TR Paper.

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The Extras

Robert Oster Pygmy Purple Ink: Add $17 to any package to add a bottle of ink to your pledge.

Rickshaw Bags 6 Pen Sleeve! A 6 pen sleeve that features an ink blob of Robert Oster Pygmy Purple. This sleeve has luxurious padding and provides optimal protection for your pens while matching your new ink perfectly. Add $49 to any package to receive one with your pledge.

Risks and challenges

During our first Kickstarter we learned A LOT about what could go wrong. We suffered a significant delay which frustrated both our backers and ourselves. That being said we have learned from our first endeavor and put safe guards in place to make sure that the mistakes of the past do not occur again. We have engaged a local crew in advance for fulfillment, made our binding more secure, and will use all benefits of experience to make this project smooth. It is true that with any venture there is a risk, but we are going into our sophomore Kickstarter with eyes wide open and a burning determination to make sure that every Hippo gets to their loving home.